Boys Volleyball Eyes Playoff Run With Veteran Core

 

Fox Chapel Area volleyball coach Phil O’Keeffe admits he is not one to brag about his teams, typically, but his stance may be a bit different about this season's squad.

The longtime Fox Chapel Area boys volleyball coach sees plenty to be confident about and feels this could be a season of great things for the Foxes. One of the most promising aspects of the team may be that O’Keeffe kept 29 players to fill out the varsity and junior varsity rosters.

“It’s very promising,” coach O’Keeffe said. “It’s the biggest group with the total number of players, varsity and junior varsity, that I may have ever kept. On the second day of tryouts, we played two courts six-on-six on both courts, and both courts looked pretty good. That doesn’t usually happen. They look pretty good. They look the part. They are competitive. I am hopeful.” 

Coach O’Keeffe, who is entering his 24th year at the helm of the Foxes squad, said the team performed well in two scrimmages against some top-notch competition as it ramped up for the season and advanced into the finals of the recently concluded Fox Chapel Invitational Tournament.

“I don’t think we are a favorite to win the WPIAL, but I definitely think we are going to be in the mix for a nice playoff run if things go according to the way I see them in my head,” the coach said. “I’m not one to say we’re the best, but we should be in the mix. Whether that’s top eight, top four, I don’t know. I think we can beat almost anybody, but if we don’t play great, we are vulnerable.”

The Foxes just missed out on the playoffs in 2025, so there’s also the motivation to get a ticket to the postseason party.

Leading the way is a one-two punch of senior captains – outside hitter Kagan Joyce and libero Owen Long.

“Kagan is a very good all-around player, if a bit undersized,” coach O’Keeffe said of the 5’9” player. “He’s got a great arm. He’s always jump-serving. When he hits it hard, it goes really hard. He hit what might have been the hardest jump serve I’ve ever seen from a Fox Chapel kid. I told him, ‘If you do that all the time, we’re going to win a lot of games.’ He’s definitely a big factor.” 

As for Owen, coach O’Keeffe hopes he will be a first-team All-WPIAL selection at the end of the season.

“He’s a very good libero,” coach O’Keeffe said. “He’s got great ball control.” 

Another key contributor is expected to be junior outside hitter Josh Nawrocki, who brings some height to the team with his 6’2” frame.  

“He’s starting to really come into his own,” coach O’Keeffe said. “He’s starting to really play well and hit the ball hard. He passes very well. If he can gain experience and the confidence that comes with it, I think he’s going to be a very good player for this team.” 

Fox Chapel Area is in WPIAL Class 3A Section 4 with Central Catholic, Gateway, North Hills, Penn Hills, and Plum. Competition throughout the WPIAL will come from the usual suspects, which, of course, begins and ends with defending WPIAL champion North Allegheny, a team that has won 23 WPIAL titles.

For the Foxes to have a successful season and perhaps even collect a WPIAL title as they did in 2006 and 2015, there are just a few areas in which they need to improve, areas coach O’Keeffe thinks are quite achievable. 

“I want them to believe they are in the mix to compete with anybody, but I don’t want them to think they don’t have to work at it to compete with anybody," the coach said. "They need the confidence that they can beat anybody, but they also have to be humble enough that they have to play well and focus to get there. I think they need a couple of confidence-building matches. Once they feel like they belong and have an invite to the party, they’re going to walk into the party with confidence.”